What This Letter Means

Letter 2205 is the Initial Contact Letter for a field examination. Your return has been selected for audit and a revenue agent has been assigned to it. The letter asks you to call the agent to schedule the first appointment.

Letter 2205 does not list the issues being examined. That is the difference between it and Letter 2205-A, which does list them. The agent will tell you which returns and tax periods are under examination when you talk. Partnerships get a different letter, Letter 2205-D.

The letter is mailed with Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer, and Notice 609, the Privacy Act notice. If you filed a joint return, each spouse gets a separate letter. If you have a power of attorney on file for the year, your representative gets a copy.

What to Do

  • Call within 14 calendar days. That is the time the agent gives you, including mailing time.
  • Decide who will handle the audit. You can authorize a representative with Form 2848 and let them make the call.
  • Expect a document request. After the first call, the agent sends a confirmation letter with Form 4564, Information Document Request, listing what to bring to the first appointment.
  • Start gathering records for the year on the letter: bank statements, receipts, invoices, and the records behind the larger numbers on your return.

If You Don't Respond

The agent will follow up by phone. If that fails, the agent can reissue the letter or send Letter 2295 by certified mail. Letter 2295 warns that your tax can be changed based on the information the IRS already has, or that a summons may be issued. Ignoring the audit does not make it go away. It just means the IRS writes the report without your side of the story.

Deadlines

You have 14 calendar days from the letter to call and schedule. Keep a copy of the letter and note the date you called and who you spoke with.

If you received Letter 2205 and want an attorney to handle the audit from the first call, call us at (813) 229-7100.